Saturday, May 31, 2014

Review of Landline by Rainbow Rowell (and audio excerpt!)

Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've still been reading like mad though and writing reviews on Goodreads. I figure it's time to put some up here! This review is about Landline by Rainbow Rowell. I have torn feelings about this book because I know some people will take its message to mean that women should give up their dreams to save their relationships. I took it more to mean, this is one particular woman and her story. I'm interested to see what all of you think.

Landline My Rating: 4 Couches

My Review:
I'm still a mess from this book. I won this book in a First Reads Goodreads giveaway, thanks!

Landline by Rainbow Rowell is about Georgie McCool and how she's worked her whole life to achieve greatness as a comedic writer in show business. Her work is finally going to pay off, but it turns out she has to give her husband and kids one more blow-- she has to work through Christmas with her best friend Seth to put together the perfect show. Neal has become the stay at home dad and sweeps off the kids to the grandparents in a huff, and Georgie has to re-evaluate her priorities. Can she remember why they are together in the first place and save her marriage if there is a way to?

I'll be honest. The way that this opens really pissed me off. Some of it is my own personal baggage, because I'm very much like Georgie in a lot of ways. I'm a physician, so the fact that she has to work over Christmas isn't very shocking to me. I've had to work a number of Christmases in the hospital, and my husband has had to not see me for many holidays of the year. My husband's a lot more awesome and tolerant than Neal though, so I'm lucky. But it just really hurt me to see that this was finally her big break and suddenly, Neal throws a temper tantrum and takes the kids to see his parents. If this happened to me, I would have encouraged them to go without me-- the fact that Georgie expected them to stay behind was also weird to me. She's going to be working the whole time, so why force the hubbie and kids to not see the family too? I guess the difference here is that Georgie has a choice to not work on Christmas-- but it's not a very nice choice. Either she has to fulfill a lifelong work ambition, or she has to focus on her family and lose this huge possibility in her life. I think this could have been portrayed a bit differently to make everyone a bit more understandable from the get go. Like make it more obvious how Georgie has neglected the family for years for her career. We get some of that in the rest of the book, but in my opinion, Georgie is just really hard on herself.

That said, the parallels to my own life are too uncanny, and left me sobbing in my bed after I stayed up all night reading it. I couldn't help but root for the two of them, no matter how strange a couple they might have seemed. I couldn't help but picture my own family 5-10 years down the line and it's totally possible that we might be in the same situation. The only difference (which is a big one), is that I would never ever want my husband to leave his job to just take care of the kids. I could definitely see that being a big problem and the resentment building up. I do have the more intense career-- I want to go into research, which surprisingly, isn't that much different from what Georgie's doing. I have to be creative, I have crazy deadlines, and I've always been work focused my whole life to achieve my goals. And it's taken me from home responsibilities a lot. When we argue, which is like twice a year, it's because I'm not doing enough around the house. I can only imagine when our first child is born in a few months, it'll just get worse.

Because of my background, I really understood what Georgie was going through on a personal level. She realized her marriage is on the brink, and she's struggling to keep a balance with her work, but there can't be a balance if Neal just removes himself from the equation. I was pissed that Neal refused to talk to her (although maybe this was a plot necessity), because regardless of how mad he was, he should at least give her a chance to apologize and talk about how they are going to make things better. Georgie tries to make amends early on, but instead finds out something really special about her landline. A possible connection to the Neal who proposed to her many years ago.

I get it. And Georgie makes somewhat of a heartbreaking decision to save her marriage. I feel like I'm in a position to realize how much it must have taken her to come to this, although I would do the same. I would sacrifice a lot to save my marriage. I'm still not convinced they'll necessarily make it-- there's too much built up resentment for it to be anywhere near easy. And I completely sympathize with how Georgie feels about Neal. I feel the same way about my husband. Like I don't really deserve him. I think that's how many women feel when men take up the mantle in the home. Although this happens in reverse all the time, where women do everything at home, and the man focuses on the career, when we women do it, there's just a whole lot of guilt involved. Like we should be able to do everything and when we can't, we're a complete failure because of it. I definitely feel that way a lot. And I completely realize how lucky I am. I just hope that I can get my act together (and I've been trying harder and harder over time), before we come to a breaking point like Neal and Georgie.

Overall, an emotionally wrenching read from Rainbow Rowell-- it starts off rocky, but attains depth and at least for this reader, strikes such a personal chord that it left me a sobbing mess in which only good books can do. It's worth a read.

What did you guys think?

And as a bonus, a very nice Macmillian publicist, Esther (Thanks!) gave me a clip for you guys from the Audio version on the book! Let me know what you think!
https://soundcloud.com/macaudio-2/landline-by-rainbow-rowell-audiobook-excerpt
 
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Monday, May 19, 2014

#ArtofLainey Twitter Party, May 20th, 8pm EST with Paula Stokes and ME! Tons of prizes and giveaways (INT)!

Who's excited for this party??? I AM!!! 


Just a couple of reminders for the party: 
WHERE: Twitter, use #ArtofLainey to join
WHEN: May 20th, 8pm EST.
WHO: The amazing Paula Stokes, me, and YOU!
PRIZES: Tons of physical books (including the really awesome LAINEY packs that Paula has so generously offered!) and swag! INT prizes available, so come too if you're INT!

Tips for the party: 
1. You should have a twitter account.
2. You should be following both @CAhnBooks and @pstokesbooks to ensure that we see your tweets and that we can contact you with prize information.
3. After each comment, you should end it with #ArtofLainey or else we won't see it.
4. I'll be selecting winners RANDOMLY throughout the party, so the more you participate and the LONGER you participate, the more likely you are to win a prize.
5. Retweets will NOT count towards a prize. But these are nice to do for your fellow tweeters if you like what they are saying.
6. If you win a prize, I'll be sending you a google document to fill out. I will confirm your prizes after the party!
7. If we TREND, meaning if enough people attend and comment over a period of time that we get recognized by Twitter, then I'll give away a bonus prize!
8. The EASIEST way to follow a twitter party is to hook up your account to a chat program. I use http://twubs.com All you have to do is put #ArtofLainey at the top of the page where it says "Enter hashtags." It should prompt you to link up your twitter account. Say yes. Then you should be good to go! The other nice thing about this is that you don't have to type the hashtag after each comment, the program automatically does it for you. And you don't have to search for the hashtag, it automatically just follows the convo.
9. To those poor souls who don't have a twitter account. It's totally EASY. Get a twitter account! I finally got one for my blog, and it took literally seconds to set up. I'm so sorry, but if you don't have a twitter account, you won't be eligible for the prizes.

Prizes include: 

SPORTY SUMMER PACK

The sporty summer pack includes a copy of The Art of Lainey, some fun colored headbands and bobby pins so you can manage your own sometimes-unmanageable hair, and a pair of neon earbuds so you can rock out to favorite tunes while getting your sportiness on.

COFFEE SHOP COLLECTION PACK
The coffee shop collection pack includes a copy of The Art of Lainey, some coffee-themed chocolate, a caramel-flavored Burt’s Bees lip gloss, and a selection of herbal teas. Feel free to rip open the tea bags and practice reading your leaves. Is that new love I see?

FAB FASHION PACK
The fab fashion pack includes a copy of The Art of Lainey, some sparkly headbands, glitter makeup, a nail art kit (+ a tropical file so you can dream of Costa Rica like Lainey), and his/hers lip balm, because when you are this fabulous, getting kissed is pretty much a guarantee.

And also some books off my bookshelf! For international winners, they can receive The Art of Lainey from Book Depository + a signed bookplate from Paula!

Can't wait to see you all there!
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Monday, May 5, 2014

The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes Info that you won't wanna miss! Twitter party, general mayhem, and GIVEAWAYS GALORE!

Guys, so excited to welcome back one of my besties, the absolutely amazing Paula Stokes!!! (And I loved Art of Lainey so much, you guys have to read it pronto!!!)

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Hi friends of Christina! Isn’t she lovely? I miss her TONS and cannot wait to see her again when I go back to St. Louis this summer.

Christina has so graciously allowed me to post about the celebrations, festivities, and general mayhem that I have planned to accompany the release of THE ART OF LAINEY. Here’s more about the book:


Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work!  But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.

What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with, if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?  

GIVEAWAY MAYHEM: 
If you know me at all, you know I am addicted to giving things away. It’s sooooo fun :-) I have rounded up all of the current giveaways I know about that will be happening in the next two weeks and added a few of my own.

May 6th is the LAST DAY you can enter to win an ARC of The Art of Lainey on Goodreads.

Jess at Reading Nook Reviews is giving away a signed finished copy of the book, a second book, and a cool soccer necklace. Enter here! This contest will run until May 17th.

Wendy is giving away a signed finished copy of the book on The Midnight Garden. This contest will run until May 19th.

Jen at the Starry-Eyed Revue says: "This is the novel that young women need to read: to experience Lainey's determination, to be inspired by a friendship that stands the test of time, to realize that they are not alone in their heartbreak and that it does get better, and to open their eyes to possibilities and not limit themselves." Enter to win a copy here (INTL) before May 9th.

I will give away at least one copy of the book between now and May 20th to someone on twitter who has The Art of Lainey cover as their twitter icon.



I will be giving away at least one copy of the book to someone who has The Art of Lainey countdown widget in their blog sidebar.

There will be multiple copies of The Art of Lainey up for grabs on both the US and Canada blog tours. Watch my twitter feed at @pstokesbooks for more info.

And finally, I will be giving away three signed finished copies of the book, bundled in fun gift packs—the sporty summer pack, the coffee shop collection pack, and the fabulous fashion pack—as part of my twitter release party. 

SPORTY SUMMER PACK

The sporty summer pack includes a copy of The Art of Lainey, some fun colored headbands and bobby pins so you can manage your own sometimes-unmanageable hair, and a pair of neon earbuds so you can rock out to favorite tunes while getting your sportiness on.

COFFEE SHOP COLLECTION PACK
The coffee shop collection pack includes a copy of The Art of Lainey, some coffee-themed chocolate, a caramel-flavored Burt’s Bees lip gloss, and a selection of herbal teas. Feel free to rip open the tea bags and practice reading your leaves. Is that new love I see?

FAB FASHION PACK
The fab fashion pack includes a copy of The Art of Lainey, some sparkly headbands, glitter makeup, a nail art kit (+ a tropical file so you can dream of Costa Rica like Lainey), and his/hers lip balm, because when you are this fabulous, getting kissed is pretty much a guarantee.

What twitter release party, you ask? 

TWITTER MAYHEM:

I love me some twitter and I think it’s a fantastic place to celebrate a book release. So on May 20th, from 8pm to 9pm Eastern time. Christina and I will be throwing an epic twitter bash under the #ArtofLainey hashtag where you can come ask me your questions, win prize packs, and fight over Micah with all the other party attendees ;-) International people are welcome, however international prizes will be modified to orders from The Book Depository + signed swag/bookplate because I can’t afford to pay fifty bucks to mail twenty-five bucks worth of merchandise. After the party, just for fun, I’ll be watching one of Lainey’s favorite movies, Bend it Like Beckham, and live-tweeting under the #BendIt hashtag. 

MICAH MAYHEM:

But that’s not all! Once you read The Art of Lainey, there is a 99.2% chance that you will either fall madly in love with Micah or want to BE him, depending on your romantic preferences. So I have persuaded Micah (as well as Lainey and Bianca) to sign some postcards for me as part of the release celebration. The first 50 people (INT) who post honest (yes, you can absolutely skewer the book and still get a postcard if you like) reviews of the book on multiple review websites will receive a LAINEY postcard signed by me and the main characters. 

There will be a google form to fill out for this once the release date rolls around, but I just wanted to tantalize you with the promise of Micah’s scribbly boy signature for you to keep forever. This offer should IN NO WAY be construed as me trying to buy good reviews. I’ll read your reviews, but in the end some people will love the book, some will like it, and some will not. That’s kinda how it goes for all books, and I have more than made my peace with that. I care much more about the number of reviews my book receives than I do about a couple of tenths one way or another in the overall rating. 

Thanks to everyone out there who has posted, tweeted, or commented about THE ART OF LAINEY. Thanks in advance to anyone who makes the time to write a review. I am so excited to share this book with the whole world.


So excited, you guys! I'm going to be first in line to buy the official book :-) I hope you guys will hang out with us!!! :-) And to start things off, I'm adding in a giveaway for a box of books from my bookshelf (US only) or Amazon GC for INT friends, and Lainey swag packs! As usual, you can select one of the books that go in your box!



The two tweet messages are DIFFERENT so please make note of that. I'll be checking when I select a winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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